exercise

I am looking for some light hand weight exercises for the upper body. Anyone have any good back strengthening exercises to do. I have back problems and need to strengthen my back some.

I don't know if you have a wii, or willing to invest in one (you can usually get the whole set up from ebay or a local pawn shop for around $60) the wii fit game is fairly low impact and I find that the yoga is a great workout and pretty easy on the body for starters!

You can build up your core strength, upper and lower with low impact exercise. Yoga is excellent for this. I would advise enrolling or having a 1 to 1 class so that someone with knowledge can assess you. Don't expect results over night as from experience it takes a while and will depend on the actual problem.

A friend gave me her copy of this book a few years ago, and it completely changed the way I take care of my back.

http://www.amazon.com/Treat-Your-Back-Robin-McKenzie/dp/0959774661

For many years, I had chronic low-grade back pain with occasional bouts of complete incapacitation from muscle spasms, but the exercises here (and really, just the way it taught me to think about how I sit and lay down) have made it so that I barely have back trouble at all. I hike and do step and Zumba now with barely any problems. I know, I sound like a shill, but it really made a huge difference for me and now I recommend it to everyone.

Here is a couple that might help..I enjoy them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e2fFkFn500

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvE0uQRM5-A